Poser (30 page)

“You didn’t scare me that first night. You won’t scare me now.”

I hesitated, and she reached down and pulled my butt in so I was buried deep. A groan ripped from my throat. My forehead dropped to her shoulder and my body shuddered.

“Harder,” she whispered in my ear. “Deeper.”

I gave in.

Bracing myself on my hands above her, I pounded into her like I hadn’t in so long. Her mouth opened, but no sound came out. Her legs fell open; she appeared boneless on the mattress.

I worried I took it too far, but then her nails dug into my back and she demanded. “More.”

I went at her like a shark after its prey, holding back my own release until my balls felt like they were going to explode.

Her nails raked into my back, and my teeth grazed her collarbone. When my arms were weak and shaking, when I couldn’t hold back any longer, I gave in.

I exploded inside her, my hot seed pumping deep into her accepting body. Ivy grabbed my ass and pulled me in, rocking so I was deeper than I’d ever been.

I swear to God, another orgasm ripped through me. I bucked against her chest like a bull at a rodeo and released a shout into the pillow right beside her head.

“Yes,” I think she murmured, rocking in small motions against me. Her hands and arms quivered.

The roaring in my head gave way enough that I heard her satisfied mewling. I’d been so lost in my orgasms.

Two.

I just had two fucking orgasms.

I hadn’t even realized she was having one too.

Unable to hold up my body, I collapsed on top of her. I knew I should move, that I was way too heavy for her, but I couldn’t. I was completely drained.

Her graceful arms wrapped around me and her hands rubbed the muscles in my back.

I shuddered under her delicate touch.

I was a goner.

So far gone under her spell I’d stay that way even after I was dead.

She could’ve asked me for anything, and I mean anything, in that moment and I would have agreed.

The after sex fog had been taken to a whole new level.

Hells yeah.

“B?” Ivy said after a long time.

I grunted, still on top of her.

“Did you, um… did you go twice?”

The pillow muffled my laughter.

“Have you ever…?”

Finding the strength, I rolled off her and stared up at the ceiling. “Nope, never before. That was the best sex I’ve ever had in my entire life.”

She giggled.

Then she giggled some more.

“You’re pleased with yourself,” I drawled, rolling on my side to look at her. I tucked some hair behind her ear. “You should be. You’re good for me, baby.”

“You’re good for me too.”

“I know.”

She rolled her eyes. “There isn’t enough room in this bed for me, you, and your ego.”

Goddamn, it was good to have her back.

“Tell me you like my cock,” I teased.

“No!” she cried, suppressing a laugh. “You’re so gross.”

“That’s not what you were saying a minute ago.”

“Braeden James Walker, do
not
make fun of me!”

“Ooh, pulling out all three names.”

She pushed a hand into my hair. It had grown longer ‘cause I’d been too lazy to get it cut, so now it could curl around her fingers and she had something to grab.

“Your hair is messy.” She tugged at the strands above my forehead.

“You like it?”

“I really do.”

I kissed her quickly. “Wanna help me wash it?”

“Does a giraffe have a long neck?” she quipped.

“Aww, baby. That was terrible.”

She threw a pillow at my head. “It was good!”

I jumped out of bed and grabbed her ankle. She screeched as I towed her to the edge of the mattress. Then I picked her up, sheet and all, and headed toward the bathroom.

“Braeden!” She gasped. “I’m naked!”

“I’ve seen it all before,” I said, dry.

“We can’t go into the hall like this! What if Rimmel sees! My brother!”

“Close your eyes!” I yelled.

She screeched and hit at my back. I kept walking but made sure the sheet covered her up completely. I flung open the bedroom door and stepped out toward the bathroom.

Romeo was coming down the hall, a pair of jeans hanging off his hips. He carried two mugs of coffee, so I figured he was delivering to Rim.

“I’m guessing things are better?” he drawled.

Ivy started screaming and tugging at the sheet.

I laughed.

“Dude, you better not be looking at my woman’s naughty bits.”

“
Braeden James
!” Ivy yelled.

I cackled and shut us in the bathroom. Romeo’s laugh floated down the hall.

I knew she was still gonna need a lot of time heal. Hell, maybe even some professional help. I knew we still had issues to work out, but I didn’t think about that stuff just then.

All I could think and all I could feel was…

Damn. It’s good to be back to normal.

Ivy

My hair was still dripping from the shower when Rimmel knocked on the bathroom door and announced it was pancake Sunday. This would be the first time we were all together for our traditional pancake Sunday since Romeo left for the NFL.

Just the mention of the diner had my stomach growling loudly. It took me a little by surprise because I hadn’t thought of food at all for a long time.

“Someone’s hungry,” Braeden said, coming up behind me and wrapping his bare arms around my towel-clad body.

“I could eat,” I murmured, enjoying the feel of him so close. I marveled at the fact that even after everything, it still didn’t color the way I felt with him. If anything, I felt closer. I felt safer.

“You need to. My B handles are shrinking away.” He kissed the side of my neck, then moved back.

I made a sound. Yeah right, those curves were here to stay.

“You feel up to going out?” he asked, running the towel over his damp hair. When he pulled it away, the dark strands literally stuck out all over the place.

“Yeah. It will be good to hang out. Just like old times.”

“They aren’t old times,” he corrected. “They’re current times. Nothing will change with that.”

“What the hell is pancake Sunday?” Drew yelled from down the hall.

Braeden made a sound.

I opened the bathroom door a crack and yelled. “Food!”

“Count me in!” he yelled back.

“Is he, like, moving in?” Braeden grumped.

I contemplated myself in the mirror. I was pale, my eyes were kinda puffy, and my lips were dry. I had a lot of work to do just make myself not look like death warmed over.

“B?” I asked.

“Yeah, babe.”

I was still contemplating my reflection when I spoke. “I’m sorry.”

He fell silent, like he was surprised I would apologize. I turned and leaned against the sink to regard him with an honest stare.

“I’m sorry I shut down. I was so selfish. I didn’t even think about how hard it must have been for you. All these months… you haven’t had anyone to talk to.”

“This wasn’t about me. It never was. This has always been about you.”

I shook my head. “It’s about us.”

“I love it when you say us.”

“I still feel pretty… raw inside, you know?”

His face turned solemn and he nodded.

“Like all the scabs on a wound have flaked away and left the unprotected skin exposed.”

“That’s kinda gross, baby.”

I laughed lightly. “Yeah, but that’s exactly how it feels, and kinda gross is part of that.”

“I’ll be your really good-looking Band-Aid.”

I ran a hand across his chest. “I don’t want you to be my Band-Aid. You can’t fix this, no matter how hard you’ve tried. Just like any wound, it’s gonna take time to heal. But I don’t want you to be careful with me like you have been. I want it to be like this morning in bed, when it was just you and me and nothing else.”

I saw the doubt form in his eyes, and I pressed on.

“You don’t remind me of him, Braeden. There’s nothing about you that frightens me. Except maybe the thought of losing you.”

“That’s not going to happen.”

He was so sure. It made me feel sure too.

“I’ve been dealing with this—with what happened—for a long time. Yes, some of the facts and pieces are new, but deep down,”—I pressed a hand to my chest—“I’ve been dealing with this a long time.”

“Just tell me what you want, Blondie. You’ll have it,” he vowed softly, pulling me close.

“I want everything. Don’t hold back. Some days I might need a little patience.”

“Woman, you’ve always required patience,” he drawled.

I pinched his nipple lightly.

“Was that supposed to be a punishment?” Desire clouded his eyes.

I groaned. He was absolutely incorrigible.

He caught my hand and brought it up to kiss the knuckles. “Go on. Tell me what else you need.”

“I guess what I’m trying to say is I don’t know where to go from here. Right now I feel stronger. I feel like I want to get back to life. I want to eat pancakes, go to work, be with you.”

“But…” he encouraged.

“But sometimes what happened feels like a storm cloud on an otherwise sunny day.”

I couldn’t quite get out what I was feeling. I couldn’t quite put it into words.

“You’re still healing. You’re still dealing. I got it.”

Well, gee. He made it sound so simple.

“I love you.” That feeling was so easy to convey.

He kissed me. “I love you,” he said against my lips.

I pulled back. “Promise you’ll never keep anything from me again, Braeden. Even if you think it would be better for me.”

“I promise.”

I ran my fingers through his wild hair, trying to tame the strands.

“We good?” he asked.

“We are.”

“I’ll go feed Giz while you get dressed.” After a kiss on the tip of my nose, he left me to try and fix the mess I’d made of my face the past five days.

Thank goodness for eye cream, moisture masks, and lip balm.

And for luminizing foundation, highlighter, blush, mascara…

Basically, I’d like to thank every product in my beauty arsenal, because I had to whip every last one of them out this morning.

Good thing I’d had a lot of practice and was able to pull it together before Braeden threatened to eat the southbound end of a mule or something equally disgusting.

By the time I went downstairs (I was the last one down there, of course. I swear, did no one else worry about the way they looked?), I had my face looking fresh and awake, my dry lips were soft, and my hair was shiny and sleek around my shoulders.

I chose a casual outfit (it was pancake Sunday after all) of dark-green leggings, tall brown UGG boots, and a chunky knit oversized cardigan in soft cream.

The diner wasn’t that busy, probably because we were there a little later than we usually were, but it wasn’t empty.

I was surprised when we pulled up to see Trent waiting in the lot, but almost just as quick, I was glad he was there.

“You called Trent?” I asked Braeden.

“That would be me,” Drew said, sheepish. “Is this like… a family thing?”

“Trent’s family,” B said.

I was glad to see whatever kind of tension he felt toward Trent was gone. I’d have to remember to ask him about it.

We had to wait for the staff to pull together two tables for us, but once they did, we had coffee, juice, and our orders placed in record time. I sat between Braeden and my brother. Romeo, Rimmel, and Trent sat across from us.

As I sipped my coffee, I thought briefly of Missy, I felt a pang of sadness she wasn’t here. But Missy’s part in my life was over. It was time I let go of that as well. Finding out she knew about Zach and used it against me was the final nail in the coffin of the friendship we once shared.

She couldn’t hurt me anymore. She’d already done her worst.

Under the table, B entwined his fingers with mine. I left my thoughts behind and smiled at him. The waitress brought heaping plates of food and set them in front of all the guys. Then she handed Rimmel and me much more sensible portions.

“So,” Romeo said, around a huge bite of eggs, “what’s your deal, Drew? I thought you were staying in North Carolina after Thanksgiving.”

“I think what he meant to say,” Rimmel corrected, “was you are welcome to the guest room.”

Romeo didn’t bother to agree, but he did smile and wink when he saw me looking at him.

“Why did you come back, Drew?” I asked, picking up my coffee and cradling the warm mug in my hands.

“‘Cause I knew you needed me.”

“And I love you for it, but I think it’s more than that,” I said.

“It’s the man crush he has on Trent,” Braeden announced while shoveling pancakes in his mouth.

Trent choked on the coffee he was sipping, and everyone laughed.

“Man crush,” Drew intoned.

“Bromance?” I tried and looked between him and Trent.

“B would know all about bromance,” Trent cracked.

Romeo and B both gave him the finger.

Drew guffawed. “I admit it’s cool hanging with someone who likes cars as much as I do.”

Even though it was super fun to tease him about their fast friendship, I had a feeling I knew the real reason Drew stayed with us so long.

“Did you and Dad get into it over Thanksgiving?” I asked.

My parents were great. I loved them, and my family was super close. My childhood was nothing but amazing, but I wasn’t the oldest son. I wasn’t expected to swallow my own passions so I could follow in my father’s footsteps and become a computer genius.

Drew set down his fork. “We never get into it. You know that. But he certainly wasn’t subtle about how disappointed he was that I hadn’t picked a company to start working my ass off for.”

He’d been hiding at our house and using me as an excuse. I hadn’t been a very good sister as of late.

Beside me, B spoke up. “I know something about having a father you feel like you gotta see when you look in the mirror.”

Everyone looked at him, frankly surprised he was openly talking about it.

“Take it from me, man. Hiding won’t solve the problem. From what I know, your Dad is a good man. He’s always been good to you guys. Just tell him you don’t want to sit behind a computer. Tell him you want to drive, not just as a hobby.”

“How’d you know I want to drive?” Surprise made Drew’s voice high.

“I listen when you talk, man. I just don’t act like it.”

I gave my brother a beaming smile. Braeden wasn’t nearly as bad as he thought.

Drew’s passion was and would always be cars. He’d been racing them as an amateur since he got his license. Our dad didn’t think it was a lucrative enough career path, and my mother was naturally afraid he was going to kill himself.

I worried about that too, but I never said so. I couldn’t. He always looked the most at peace when he was behind the wheel.

“He’s good,” Trent spoke up. “Smoked my Mustang.”

“You two have been racing?” I asked, my eyes bulging. I had no idea Trent was so interested in cars. I always just saw him as a football player and a frat boy.

Trent shrugged. “Just messing around.”

“Maryland has a team,” Romeo said. “Ron Gamble owns it.”

“Who’s Ron Gamble?” Drew asked.

All the guys at the table groaned.

“He’s the richest man in the entire state. He owns the Knights. He owns everything,” I said.

“And y’all know him?”

“Rome’s his golden boy,” Braeden said.

Romeo didn’t disagree; he just shook his head. Then he said, “I could find out if there’s any spots open.”

“Are you shitting me?” Drew said, completely abandoning his food.

I smiled and little butterflies took flight in my stomach. I never really thought about having Drew here in Maryland full-time. I loved the thought. Our family was growing.

“I’m not promising shit,” Romeo warned. “I’m not as in with Ron as B thinks.”

“Liar,” Braeden said around a cough.

Romeo ignored him. “And you’d have to prove yourself, but I could maybe make a call.”

At that moment, a couple girls came up to the table with papers in their hand. They stared at Romeo with stars in their eyes and a blush on their cheeks.

“Can we have your autograph?”

Romeo tossed down his fork and leaned back. He gave them a million-dollar smile and turned his blue eyes on them. “Sure.”

I was pretty sure one of them swooned.

Rimmel barely even glanced up, like she was used to this. Like people approaching him was a regular occurrence.

After he signed the papers and posed for a quick selfie, the girls went back to their table.

I leaned across toward Rimmel. “Pretty soon you’re gonna need a full-time stylist.”